Hearts and Hospitals
by TheCaptainHP
Summary: Part of the Forever Marauding series.  Sirius Black had always been a golden boy who cared little about consequences. Maybe a summer of community service will teach him to look more kindly upon those not as blessed as himself.


Chapter 1

_Behind a curtain, uncertain if an encore's in store-_Mat Kearney, In the Middle

_Prongs. Padfoot. Moony. Wormtail. James. Sirius. Remus. Peter. Four friends who started out as a united, inseparable force. Four friends who ended up going down four incredibly different paths. They all ended the same way though. Death._

He had heard James' voice as he passed through the veil. What happened next was really no surprise to Sirius.

"The old Shack? Jamesy, I'm home!" He called as he bounded down the hallway. Sirius was met with a tackling hug from his best friend.

"I'd say it was good to see you but…" He waved his hands around in an ambiguous gesture. "It means you're dead. Plus, until you showed up, I got to be with Lily."

Sirius laughed. "Sorry mate. Always intruding on your special time with the lady, aren't I? Well, tell Lils I'm sorry the next time you see her." He glanced around. "So how long are we here for?"

"We're waiting for the rest of your group."

Sirius raised an eyebrow in surprise at the young woman sitting in the corner. "Blimey. Has she been here the whole time, James?"

James nodded. "This is Jenny. She went to school with us. She's our handler." He said with a smirk. "She greeted me and Lily when it was our turn. You haven't said anything about my son yet."

He blinked. "Right. You want to know about Harry."

"Of course I do. We hate you, you know. You know our son more than we do." He smiled sadly. "Does he still look like me?" James asked softly, exposing his gentle, more vulnerable side.

Sirius rested a hand on his best friend's shoulder. "He looks just like you, mate. Everyone thinks so. It's almost scary seeing how much he looks like you. Sometimes I forget-would forget that he wasn't you. Remus would give me grief for that. He has Lily's eyes though. Her brains too, since you never had any."

James let out a yelp of protest. "Says the second stupidest member of the group."

Sirius let out a snort. "You still consider Wormtail to be one of us?"

James shrugged. "He used to be. Not anymore though. I was hoping he'd be the next one. I mean, I'd rather be stuck with you, Black." He said quickly. "But you know… You and Remus deserve to live far more than that git does."

He ran a hand through his shaggy hair. "Mooney will be the last one. I'm going to miss him." The two friends had just finally been reunited before fate had torn them apart once again.

Sirius was right. Peter was the next one to join them, and James was certainly glad to see him. So glad that he would have beat Peter to a pulp if Jenny had not intervened. "He's not worth it, mate." Sirius murmured. Besides, what was the point? Peter was already dead, so he couldn't get what he deserved.

The git tried to win them back, just as he had four years before, when they had been here in the Shack alive. As if that was going to happen. No, Sirius and James were not willing to forgive him that easily. Not for the crime that he had committed against both of them. Not just the two of them. Peter had hurt Lily and Harry too.

However, they weren't too pleased when Remus arrived. It was too soon for him. He had something going for him, just as James had. Remus had a wife and son. It wasn't Tonks' time either. They had only just gotten married and had poor baby Teddy. Another baby boy orphaned by this war.

Sirius wasn't quite sure how he felt about the news Jenny had for them. A second life? Not a re-do, but an entirely different life? Sure, he hadn't gotten all that he had wanted out of his life, but maybe it had worked out that way for a reason. He couldn't really think of one of the top of his head, but there had to be some sort of reason. It was just the universe working in mysterious ways, right? He was a good person. An alright person at the very least. Although… He would certainly enjoy getting to have a life that didn't involve prison and being on the run. As exciting as that part of his life had been, he couldn't help but wonder what things would have been like if he had lived a more…settled life. One like James and Sirius. Marriage, a family. That hadn't been in the cards for the old Sirius, but perhaps for the new one?

"As fun as it's been, Sirius, it's your time." Jenny stated, bringing him back to the current situation.

He pouted. "Won't I get to see you again, Jen?" Oh, how he had enjoyed joking around with her during his time here. She was a nice girl, and he had to give her plenty of credit for putting up with him. Too bad he hadn't taken more notice of her when they had both been alive. She might have even made an alright girlfriend.

"Hopefully not." She gave him a slightly push through his door. "Although I rather like the Sirius you could have been."

He raised an eyebrow. That was intriguing. He drove Jenny insane right now. The other Sirius must be boring as hell."Do you? Would you be interested in-" Jenny slammed the door closed behind him before he could finish his question.

Well, this was going to be interesting…


End file.
